Seal-lock



(No Model.)

R. M. SULLY.

SBA-L LOCK.

Patented May 11, 1.886.

(g4/wcm lion Wmv/KM M 6mm UNITED 'STATES PATENT Garros.

ROBERT M. SLLY, OF PETERSBURG, VIRGINIA.

SEAL-LOCK.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 341,780, dated May l1, 18867.

Application filed March 3, 1886. Serial No. 193,827.

To all whom, t may concern.-

Be it known that I, ROBERT M. SULLY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Petersburg, in the county of Dinwiddie and State of Virginia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Seal-Locks for Cars; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description ot' the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and usethe same.

My invention, broadly considered, relates to seal-locks for freightcars and the like; and it consists in providing simple and efficient means whereby an ordinary tagsuch as is employed for a shipping-tag-may be used as a seal without the necessity of a separate metallic or other sealing appliance. Vith my construction of lock, when the sealing-tag has once been applied, it will be impossible to withdraw the bolt without breaking or destroying Y the tag, and the condition of the tag will always indicate unmistakably whether the lock has been tampered with. The broad features of such a lock have been shownand describedin an application for Letters .Patent of the United States filed by me on the 13th day ot' February, leso,

erenee to certain improvements in the meclr anism there disclosed, whereby it is rendered impossible to detach the sealing-tag after the bolt is in its locked position without breaking or destroying it in the same manner as by the withdrawal of the bolt.

rlhe particular construction in which I have embodied my improvements is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure I represents a portion ot a car with my improved lock applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a side elevation, partly sectional, of a detached portion of my lock. Fig. 3 shows one form oi" tag which I use as a seal, and Fig. 4 is a detail View.

Referring to Fig. l, A represents an ordinary freightcar, and B the door of the same, adapted to slide back and forth in the usual manner.

b I) are shoes secured to the car-door, and c a are the rails along which the door slides.

the car-door in the The hasp C is secured to and bearing the serial Oiiice number 191,833, and my present invention has ref- (No model.)

usual way, the lock itself being` bolted to the door-frame, as shown at D.

The details of the lock are best illustrated in Fig. 2, E being the staple over which the hasp C is adapted to tit, and F being the bolt of the lock. The bolt is adapted to slide in openings f/ and l1 in the posts G and H, re spectively, the opening in post (lr being just large enough to fit loosely around the bolt and that in the post H being made somewhat larger and squared, for reasons that will be hereinafter explained.

The post G is provided with a second open` ing, m, which extends from the opening g longitndinall y through the post, and is closed by a countersunk screw, n. Vithin the opening m is a catch, c, which is pressed ont by a spring, s, against the bolt F in the vertical opening g. The catch is prevented from turning on its longitudinal axis by a rod or pin, it, which passes through the opening and through a slot, o, in the body of the catch.

The lower end ofthe bolt F is made larger than the body thereof and squared, so that it will not passt-hrough the opening/1y unless its faces are properly adjusted. One side of the squared end of the bolt is formed by a hook, t, to which the sealing-tag is to be attached.

The bolt F is provided with two notches, fr' i,

onA opposite sides, with one or the other of 8o which the catch c will engage when in its locked position. lThe bolt can of course be pushed downward, without being inter rupted bythe catch c, by turning it so that either of the sides not notched shall pass over the catch. Once in engagement with the catch, however, the bolt cannot be .pushed down, either to receive or detach the tag, without lirst withdrawing the lower end of the bolt from the opening 71 and turning it a quarter or threequarters revolution.

The tag is applied to ahook, t, on the lower end of the bolt, and the bolt and tag are then drawn upward until the latter has entered the slits w w in the post H and one ofthe notches t' fr' has come into engagementwith the catch c. Now, one of the notches t' t' is on the same side of the bolt as the hook t. There being two notches z' 'L' on opposite sides of the bolt, it can be drawn into the locked position with either the bolt is IOO surface of the tag exposed to view. To facilitate the same end, and also to afford a iat surface for the upper end of the tag to rest against, about half the body of the bolt is out away just above the hook.

It is evident that when the bolt is once locked by the catch and the sealing-tag is in place the bolt cannot be withdrawn without 'breaking the tag, and thereby betraying the fact of such withdrawal, nor can the bolt be pushed downward and the sealing-tag detached without first withdrawing the bolt far enough to break the seal, just as if the bolt were fully withdrawn. Any tampering, either with the lock or the seal, is vunfailingly betrayed, and it is believed that all the safeguards possible in locks of this kind are provided by my apparatus.

Mechanieally, the improvement disclosed in my present application consists in squaring the lower end of the bolt F and squaring the opening h, or rather in making both angular instead of round. Functionally, the change constitutes a substantial improvement in the general efiiciency of my lock.

To avoid the danger of losing the bolt, and thus destroying the lock, I pass a ring, r, through the upper end of it, and braze or weld the ends of this ring together, so as to make it solid. It is for this reason, also, that I enlarge the hooked end of the bolt, so that it will not pass through the opening g, though it will slide through the opening h with little or no friction.

As a sealing appliance I may use a tag similar to the ordinary shipping-tag. This tag may be marked, as indicated in Fig. 3, with the name of the railroad company which is responsible for the car and its contents, the shipping-point, the character of the contents, and the destination ot' the car. It may also 4o be provided at either-- side with columns of figures representing the days of two or more successive months, with blanks at the top for the names ot' the months. I prefer to have the numbers printed or otherwise applied to 45 the tag in regular order from l to 31 in the left-hand column, and in reverse order from 31 to l in the right-hand column. By punching the proper numbers each conductor can indicate the days on which the car came under and left his charge. The distinctive character of the punches employed by various conduct hrs will .ordinarily be a sufcient indication as toI which one, if any, is responsible for delay or injury to the car or its contents. The matter that is shown on the tag, however, can obviously be needs without departing from the spirit of my invention. Nor do I wish it understood that I confine myself to the use of a tag constructed like the ordinary shipping-tag, as I may employ a metallic tag or any other that is formed into a thin sheet.

Having now described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,

1. 4In a seal-lock for cars, the locking-bolt and a fastening device formed ou an angular portionl thereof to pass through a perforation in a seal, in combination with a'post having an angular receptacle which incloses the said angular portion of the bolt and the fastening device, together with the attached seal, substantially as set forth.

2. In a seal-lock for cars, the combination, with the bolt F, provided with the hook t and the notch t', the said hook being formed on an angular portion of the said bolt, of the catch c, and the posts G and H, the latter having the angular opening hf, substantially as and forthe purpose set forth.

3. In a seal-lock for cars, the combination, with the bolt F, provided with the hook t and the notch i, the said hook being formed on an angular portion of the bolt, of the catch c, and the posts'G and H, the latter having the angular opening h, and the slits w w, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

In, testimony whereof I have affixed my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ROBERT M. sULLY.

Witnesses:

C. I-I.- PYLE, It. W. DE HAVEN.

varied at will to suit varying 

